Undo or redo data entry or design changes

You can undo and redo up to 20 of your last typing or design actions in Access. To undo an action, press Ctrl + Z. To redo an undone action, press Ctrl + Y.

The Undo and Redo features let you remove or repeat single or multiple typing actions, but all actions must be undone or redone in the order you did or undid them – you can’t skip actions. For example, if you change the value of three fields in a record and then decide you want to undo the first change you made, you must undo all three changes.

Similarly, you can undo most design changes that you make to database objects, such as adding a control to a report or adding a sort order to a query field. Design changes must also be undone in order.

In this article

Undo data entry

On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the arrow next to Undo Typing
, and then select the actions that you want to undo.

All of the selected typing actions are reversed. However, the actions that you can undo will begin with the most recent action and you may only undo the actions in the order in which they occurred. For example, you cannot undo just the second typing changes that you made. To undo the second typing change, you must also undo the action that preceded it.

If you can’t reach the Quick Access Toolbar (for example, because you are using a modal form), press CTRL+Z repeatedly until the action that you want to undo is undone.

Important: Some actions can't be undone, such as clicking a command on the File tab. When an action cannot be undone, the Undo Typing command changes to Can't Undo.

Undo design changes

You can undo design changes to database objects in the same way that you undo data entry.

To undo the most recent design change, press CTRL+Z

To undo several actions, do one of the following:

Press CTRL+Z repeatedly until the action that you want to undo is undone.

On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the arrow next to Undo
, and then select the actions that you want to undo.

All of the selected typing actions are reversed. However, the actions that you can undo will begin with the most recent action and you may only undo the actions in the order in which they occurred. For example, you cannot undo just the second typing changes that you made. To undo the second typing change, you must also undo the action that preceded it.

Important: Some actions can't be undone, such as clicking a command on the File tab. When an action cannot be undone, the Undo command changes to Can't Undo.

Redo actions that you undid

On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the arrow next to Redo
, and then click the actions that you want to redo.

The actions are redone in the order in which they are listed. You can only redo the actions in the order in which they occurred. For example, you cannot redo only the second action that you undid. To redo the second action, you must also redo the action that preceded it.

Important: When the Undo and Redo commands are not available, the previous actions cannot be repeated.

Help prevent lost work

Undo can really save the day, but it’s no substitute for regularly saving your work. You can help prevent the loss of work due to errors or crashes by using Backup and Restore, and by using Application Parts (a kind of template).

Backup and Restore

Before you start work on a major design revision, make a backup of the database. Then, if you make a series of design changes and can’t undo them all, you can restore as much from the backup as you need. For more information, see the article Protect your data with backup and restore processes.

Application Parts

If there are standard components that you use in most of or all your databases, consider creating an application part. An application part is a kind of template that you can add to an existing database, and can consist of one or more database objects, with or without data.

After you add an application part, you can modify it as needed. If you make design mistakes, or simply decide you don’t like the changes you’ve made, you can delete the revised objects, and add the application part again. For more information, see the article Save and reuse database design elements.